Moon has always been an object of awe and fancy for the mankind. You would still remember the famous words of Neil Armstrong when he first stepped on the moon, "A small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind". Even after this success, there are many things about moon which people fail to understand and explain. One such question is, do crime rates spike on full moon nights?
The term used for this phenomenon is called, "lunar effect". It is how people correlate the behavior of humans and animals with that of the various stages of lunar cycle. The concept can be considered as a sort of cross between pseudoscience and parapsychology. So, it is based on a scientifically sound theory but has no known scientific proof. In fact, it is quite impossible to give a scientific proof of the whole shebang.
Delve in the history a bit and you will find that the term 'lunatic' has been derived from the name of Luna, the Roman goddess for moon. During the 18th century, any person being prosecuted for manslaughter could plead lunacy as a defense and generally the courts would award a lighter sentence than otherwise. The belief behind this relationship is not some new born urban legend but a matter running through centuries.
The question is- can it be scientifically proved that there is a relationship between full moon and an increase in the number of crime rates. There have been a number of studies conducted in United States. Various studies failed to find that the stage of lunar cycle somehow relates to the number of suicides, birth rates, dog bites and crime rates. Yet there are a number of researchers of human behavior who have conducted studies that revealed astonishing results for full moon nights. In these studies, events like arson, manslaughter, rash driving and kleptomania were seen to increase on full moon nights by a considerable margin.
A new dimension was added to the study by Arnold Lieber of University of Miami. This psychologist says that because human body is nearly 80 % water, there is a strong possibility that it experiences biological tides. This leads to emotional impact based upon the different phases of moon. Compare this to the case of tides which occur in sea due to the gravitational pull between the earth and the moon.
The doctor undertook a study in Dade County, Florida. This study includes 1887 murders spanning a period of 15 years. The study revealed that the rate of murder tends to correlate with the phase of moon so the murders on full moon were definitely higher than other days.
As of now, there is no decisive answer to this question. Yet we must not forget to tame the werewolf within.
The term used for this phenomenon is called, "lunar effect". It is how people correlate the behavior of humans and animals with that of the various stages of lunar cycle. The concept can be considered as a sort of cross between pseudoscience and parapsychology. So, it is based on a scientifically sound theory but has no known scientific proof. In fact, it is quite impossible to give a scientific proof of the whole shebang.
Delve in the history a bit and you will find that the term 'lunatic' has been derived from the name of Luna, the Roman goddess for moon. During the 18th century, any person being prosecuted for manslaughter could plead lunacy as a defense and generally the courts would award a lighter sentence than otherwise. The belief behind this relationship is not some new born urban legend but a matter running through centuries.
The question is- can it be scientifically proved that there is a relationship between full moon and an increase in the number of crime rates. There have been a number of studies conducted in United States. Various studies failed to find that the stage of lunar cycle somehow relates to the number of suicides, birth rates, dog bites and crime rates. Yet there are a number of researchers of human behavior who have conducted studies that revealed astonishing results for full moon nights. In these studies, events like arson, manslaughter, rash driving and kleptomania were seen to increase on full moon nights by a considerable margin.
A new dimension was added to the study by Arnold Lieber of University of Miami. This psychologist says that because human body is nearly 80 % water, there is a strong possibility that it experiences biological tides. This leads to emotional impact based upon the different phases of moon. Compare this to the case of tides which occur in sea due to the gravitational pull between the earth and the moon.
The doctor undertook a study in Dade County, Florida. This study includes 1887 murders spanning a period of 15 years. The study revealed that the rate of murder tends to correlate with the phase of moon so the murders on full moon were definitely higher than other days.
As of now, there is no decisive answer to this question. Yet we must not forget to tame the werewolf within.
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